Preconceived Notion of Racial Beauty in Hollywood:
Lupita Nyongo
by Lillian Bonar
Essay: Preconceived Notion of Racial Beauty in Hollywood: Lupita Nyongo
Pages: 11
Rating: 3 stars
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Lupita Nyongo is up for an academy award for her debut performance in the blockbuster 12 Years a Slave (Butler
2). Despite not being known a year ago, these days Lupita commands an audience when she speaks (Butler, 3).
She has recently joined a select list of actors having won an Oscar for their first performances in a feature film
(Dyer Jr. 2). On February 28th, Lupita delivered an acceptance speech during the Essence Black Women in
Hollywood awards. In her speech, Lupita addressed the preconceived notion of racial beauty in Hollywood. The
following essay will seek to prove that Lupita Nyongo speech inadvertently breaks down the barrios of racial
beauty by challenging the notion of that beauty is merely skin deep. I will do so by breaking down each portion of
her speech and explain how the ethos of her argument helps to support the fight against racial marginalization
within Hollywood.
Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Lupita Nyongo represents the polar opposite of traditional Hollywood starlets
(Butler 3). For one, her hair is as short as a male, she’s black, and dark skinned to boot (Butler 3). While her debut
in 12 Years a Slave put her on the map, her speech at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards show
launched her into stardom (Dyer 2).
In the beginning of her speech, the actress explains that she was struck by a letter from a fan, who wrote about
her contemplation on purchasing skin bleaching cream, until Nyongo “appeared on the world map” and saved her
(Butler 3). In Maxine Leeds Craig’s book Aint I a Beauty Queen?: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race, she
explains that depictions of strong willed women “usually presented in a sympathetic light” are limiting in the
entertainment industr...
essay on preconceived notions